In Southern California, generations of immigrants are creating an evolving definition of "American." Multi-American is your source for news, conversation and insight on this emerging regional and national identity.

Detainees are shown resting on bunks inside the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Wash. A hunger strike that's been going on since Friday has dwindled to five people as of Tuesday night.
Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Migrant detainees at Washington state centre continue protesting conditions - The Guardian The hunger strike at a privately-run immigration detention center in Tacoma, Wash. facility keeps going, but with dwindling numbers. At its start on Friday, more than half of the center’s 1,300 detainees rejected food. By Tuesday night, the number of hunger strikers had dropped to five. Hunger strikers are protesting are protesting the 2 million deportations that have been processed under the Obama administration. Outside the facility, a couple hundred people rallied in support, some of them chanting “¡Sí, se puede!” – Spanish for “Yes we can!”, the Obama campaign slogan.

Immigration Doesn’t Have the Votes Yet, Ryan Says - Roll Call (blog) House budget chairman Paul Ryan told his hometown paper the Janesville Gazette that Republican leaders still lack the votes to overhaul the immigration system. Ryan is quoted as saying that "right now, we’re working hard to find where that consensus lies,” and he blamed both the right and the left for the delay. According to Roll Call, just 18 House members, including Ryan, have spoken out in favor of the immigration principles released by Speaker John A. Boehner in January.

Immigration Activists Hit National, State Fronts - NBC News Around the country, immigration activists are applying more pressure on members of Congress. In Washington D.C., Fair Immigration Reform Movement (FIRM), the largest coalition of immigrant rights organizations, is holding a two-day summit that "includes workshops and strategy sessions as well as meetings and the delivery of petitions to members of Congress." In Arlington, Tex., leaders from the National Council of La Raza and religious groups are among those visiting congressional districts to keep the heat on GOP members. And this week, members of "Fast for Families" are going to Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Gay Ethiopian faces uncertainty, peril if deported - Boston Globe An Ethiopian man in Boston is fighting deportation to his home country because, as he told the courts, he is gay. Ethopia "is among dozens of nations — 77 at last count — where it is a crime to be gay or lesbian, according to the United Nations." The 19-year-old had come to the US to study at a college in New Hampshire but came to the attention of immigration officials after he had lost his student visa. In November, the student had posted in an online forum that he was gay.

IMMIGRATION: Citizenship ceremony in San Bernardino - The Press Enterprise Southern California's Inland Empire has a large immigration population but those becoming citizens usually have to trek to Los Angeles or Orange counties. But on Thursday, more than 700 immigrants will be sworn in as citizens in San Bernardino. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said it's making more of an attempt "to provide ceremonies closer to where new citizens live,” said USCIS spokeswoman Claire Nicholson. From the story: "There were more than 940,000 immigrants in Riverside and San Bernardino counties in 2012, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. That represents nearly 22 percent of the region’s population. More than half of Inland immigrants are not citizens, the Census estimates.